Speculation and Vancancy Tax

The speculation and vacancy tax is designed to turn empty homes into housing for British Columbians. The aim is to ensure foreign owners and those with primarily foreign income contribute fairly to BC’s tax system.

This tax is an annual tax that applies based on:

• How property owners use their residential property
• The property owner’s residency status
• Where property owners earn and report their income

Most BC residents will be exempt from the tax. There are also some specific regions that aren’t subject to the tax.

If you don’t meet the exemption criteria, payment is due July 2, 2022. You must declare each year because your circumstances may change during the year and this declaration is due on March 31 of each yearns

Declaration Timeline

Receive your declaration letter mid-January to mid-February

• Declare by March 31
• You declare how you used your property last year. If asked about your income, use income from the year before last year.
• If you owe tax, pay by the first business day in July

Why everyone must declare

If a property has more than one owner, a separate declaration must be made for each owner, even if the other owner is your spouse or relative.

This tax is based on how each owner uses the property and whether they have foreign income, the province requires each owner on title to declare separately!

Have you claimed your Speculation and Vacancy Declaration yet? If not, claim it here: https://www.etax.gov.bc.ca/SVT/_/

Deadline for Speculation and Vacancy Tax Declaration: March 31, 2022

Note: The speculation and vacancy tax is different from Vancouver's empty homes tax. The rules for each tax and how they apply are not the same.